Why the 49ers Will Not Move on From any of Their Quarterbacks

Brock Purdy is trending in the right direction to be the San Francisco 49ers Week 1 starter in 2023.

That means that the whole charade of a "quarterback competition" between Trey Lance and Sam Darnold is all for nothing. Should Purdy arrive in the middle of training camp, then it could spell bad news for Lance.

The 49ers could end up looking to move him and roll with Darnold as the main backup. Certainly there will be speculation and noise that the 49ers would do it considering Lance could be viewed as expendable. Doing so would keep any potential controversy away from the team. However, do not anticipate the 49ers to move on from any of their quarterbacks.

Whether it is Lance or Darnold, the 49ers won't trade either of them and will retain both of them behind Purdy. It makes zero sense for the 49ers to trade Lance after or during training camp. I don't even believe they will make a move in the middle of the regular season when the trade deadline draws near. The 49ers experienced an insane season in 2022 when they went through a plethora of quarterbacks.

Four quarterbacks went down due to injury for them and ultimately cost them a trip to the Super Bowl, so I have a difficult time believing that they will not do everything within their power to avoid that. The 49ers have to feel scarred from that. There is no way they trade Lance in the middle of the season just for some measly draft picks as I doubt he will generate any real value, especially if he isn't playing and looking good in regular season games.

Everything for the 49ers is winning a Super Bowl this year. It is why they are giving Purdy the starting reigns instead of going back to Lance and helping him develop. They do not care about that and will do all they can to win and go far. Well, rolling with just Purdy and a barely serviceable player in Darnold is not a smart plan. At least with Lance, they know how they can call an offense with him and give them another option in case Purdy goes down.

It's all about having contingencies for the 49ers, so moving on from a quarterback doesn't help them. And no, Brandon Allen is NOT a viable option. In fact, I think the 49ers will try to get him on their practice squad. Their best plan is to stick with Purdy, Lance, and Darnold. Now that the NFL allows three quarterbacks on gameday, it gives them all the more reason to keep them. Getting rid of one of them will only hurt them, and given the 49ers history with quarterbacks, at least one is bound to get injured and miss time.